Policy News & Updates

AFSP works hard to create a world in which people no longer die by suicide. While we understand that suicide is personal and complicated, we also know that thoughtful public policies can reduce the number of suicides.

To help make that happen, we work closely with hundreds of well-informed and passionate advocates, all committed to educating officials at every level of government about suicide, and persuading them to act.

To ensure that public officials and the general public have the information they need to make informed decisions about suicide, we provide the links below. These links will take you to news and information about advocacy efforts and public policies related to suicide prevention. The links also connect to the work we’re doing here at AFSP, in our Advocacy and Public Policy office, and to our powerful national network of suicide prevention advocates.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee met on Wednesday, November 19, to discuss issues with children’s mental health in Native American and Alaskan Native communities. Most of the discussion focused on prevention, and treatment of childhood trauma, but also included an examination of the rising suicide rate among Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.

On November 12, 2014 AFSP’s Vice President of Public Policy John Madigan and Public Policy Associate Paul Almeida attended the last Affordable Care Act Patient Advocacy Meeting before the start of this year’s open enrollment period this Saturday Nov. 15, 2014.

On Wednesday, November 12, AFSP's Manager of Federal Policy Trevor Summerfield attended a listening session at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to talk about community mental health.

In recognition of Veterans’ Day, Yochi Dreazen (Managing Editor at Foreign Policy, and author of ‘The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War’) has contributed a piece to The Washington Post as part of the newspaper’s ongoing ‘5 myths’ series.

On November 6 and 7, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention/The Trevor Project’s joint fellow Madeline Parker attended the “Creating and Sustaining Fair and Beneficial Environments for LGBTQ Youth” OJJDP (The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) Listening Session.